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Lago Maggiore Itinerary Help

Planning to go to Lago Maggiore in June for 2 nights, driving from Milan and probably staying in Stresa.
Thinking of spending a day exploring Stresa and the Borromean islands by ferry and a second day going up the lake to Locarno/Ascona by Ferry.
I would welcome any suggestions of sights, restaurants, travel suggestions, as well as other spots to see on the lake.
Thank you

That is 2 full days of sightseeing. Do you really want 3 nights?
I spent 2 nights on Isola dei Pescatori (smallest) at Hotel Verbano many years ago and really enjoyed staying on the island as well as their restaurant. Awesome views. Check for current reviews.

The only catch is if you need transportation off/on the island outside of the regular boat schedule. The hotel will arrange a private boat for you at a price.

We didn't have time to visit Locarno since we chose to visit Villa Taranto and the botanical gardens.

Actually, we will be 3 nights, but 3rd day driving to MXP, returning the car and flying home.
So, you are correct, 2 full days of sightseeing, and perhaps another 1/2 day on the way from Milan to Stresa.

Do you think making the connection to a boat up to Locarno would be too time consuming? Maybe.

I can't believe the picture of Isola dei Pescatori! It looks like there are more and taller buildings on it now. Was the Belvedere hotel a newer property? I was there in 2000 and now I have to go back and check my pics. I thought Hotel Verbano was the only one on the tiny island, but maybe not.

Also, from my visit I remember Isola Madre as being the larger and wilder botanical gardens. We liked it but the villa was empty when we were there. We did take a nice short tour and were the only ones there. There were lots of wandering birds, peacocks and pheasants.

We did the palace tour of Isola Bella and found the history of the place interesting. The gardens on Isola Bella were, to me, much more formal with the wide stairways and rose gardens.

Since we were touring around to other places during the day, we didn't really notice lcrowds on on Pescatori, but then much can change in 15 years!

Stayed in Stresa for four nights this past Summer. You will not, IMO, need an entire day for the town itself and could certain spend some time on one day doing at least one or two of the islands which are not big.

If you are willing to pay for transport outside the usual ferry services, and they do not all stop at all the islands, all the better.

I suppose you could spend part of a day doing the "Lake Maggiore Express" train and ferry combo but check that out on Google because the ferry ride portion can be long(er) than you might like.

There are several of those truly 'grand' piles called hotels along the lakefront promenade; we stayed in one and enjoyed it but they are not cheap.

@Dayle - If the OP wants to spend a day visiting Locarno, and is only spending one day actually visiting lake Maggiore, I don't see the point of sleeping on the island when it means he will have to make extra ferry trips. And yes, the island seemed to be pretty built up to me, although I wouldn't say the buildings looked new. It was certainly overrun with tourists during the day. I was there towards the end of September, so imagine it would be worse in summer. Yes, Isola Madre is larger and wilder, and at least in the morning, less touristed.

Isola dei Pescatori is always the same, since decades. Much less "overrun" than Isola Bella, but nothing will be "overrun" in June anyway. But I agree with everybody above that Stresa would be the better choice for logistic reasons.

As you will have a car, you could also stay in the small hotels at Colazza or Nebbiuno (close to the motorway exit Meina) with panoramic views over the Lake.

Stresa - Locarno is a very relaxing trip if you go by slow boat (1 to 2 boats daily), and not by (boring) aliscafo.

Unfortunately, Isola dei Pescatori and the restaurant of the hotel (the only one on the island?) lives in my memory as one of the most disappointing meals I have ever eaten in Italy. (This might have been because there was a large wedding party that evening.)

My personal favorite of the Borromei islands is Isola di Madre, with its puppet theatre and exotic birds (there is nowhere to eat on that island except a poor snack bar at the dock, so either bring a picnic or avoid the lunch hour). While a zillion tourists go to Isola Bella, I suspect most don't entre the palazzo there, but it is one of the prettier palazzo interiors I have seen in Italy, with a harmonious design and pastel colors. If you enjoy architecture and design, it's a treat.

I've only passed through Locarno to change from a train to a bus to get elsewhere, and while it looked pleasant and fun, you might give some consideration to using your car to visit Lago d'Orta, maybe on the way up to Stresa or instead of Locarno? (How long is the back and forth?) Another possiblity is to take the cable car in Stresa to the mountain tops for up-high views of the lake and walks.

With a car, I would probably stay in Baveno rather than Stresa, since it gets fewer tourists (it doesn't have the train staion or the grandiose belle epoque hotels), and you might get better restaurants.

We spent three nights at Hotel Milan Speranza Au Lac in Stresa in early October. The hotel was perfect for us, right across the street from the lake. Our room was very nice, with a balcony overlooking the lake and park area.

It is also right across the street from the boats to the islands.

After Stresa we took the train to Brig (Switzerland) for two nights, then on the Zermatt for three more.

I am glad to see that you ae driving from Milan after our bad experience with the Alibus to Stresa from MXP. We had confirmed reservations for the bus, but it never showed us. We ended taking a bus then a train to Stresa.

There are plenty of places to eat on Isla Pescatori during the day. A lot of them close when the day trippers leave, but there are a few dinner choices. I ate twice at the Belvedere, one good meal, one less so, and ate well at one of the other restaurants. Some tour groups book the waterfront cafes for dinner and arrive on chartered boats.

Besides the Belvedere I noticed at least one other hotel and several rooms or B&Bs.

Since the area was crowded in late September, I'm not sure why it would be less crowded in June.

Late September is a much more popular time to travel for retirees, and generally speaking, retirees have much more money to spend on travel, especially an expensive destinaton like Italy, than do younger people.

"I am glad to see that you ae driving from Milan after our bad experience with the Alibus to Stresa from MXP. We had confirmed reservations for the bus, but it never showed us. We ended taking a bus then a train to Stresa."

neckervd, That is just about what we did. The information desk in MXP told us to take the bus, which we dId, and we were the only passengers! The driver and his helper (?) were friendly and the ride through the beautiful countryside was so pretty.

Somewhere along the way, as we stopped at every bus stop, I, jet-lagged and so tired from the long overnight flight, started laughing as we rode in state in the front seats of the big bus which we had all to ourselves.

Somehow it seemed at the time to be funny and fun and a ride we won't forget!

(By the way, we did make it to Stresa just a little later than planned.)